As 2001 comes to a close, most

Americans, if not all, will tell you we have been changed by the events

of the year. This space will not permit me to discuss at length all the

ways you and I may have been affected by what has happened over the past

12 months so I have chosen to talk about EMS.

Emergency medical services

are something we don't think about until we need them. On 9/11, we had

a need. Much has been said about police and fire and it should have been

said. Heroes have been redefined this year. Such redefinition has been

long overdue. Today I want to attempt to remind us of what EMS professionals

do for us.

Typically an ambulance or emergency

medical service is supplied by city or county government. In many cases

the service is supplied by a private ambulance service being paid by county

government. I suppose this makes sense to some degree. I'm sure the various

counties love to share the potential for litigation with private services.

Folks get angry when they get

hurt and can't get well. They get mad when their loved ones die. They

want money for it. 'Tis the American way. So we sue and it's easy because

there seems to a lawyer on every corner ready and eager to lead the way

to those big bucks.

What there is not on every

corner is an ambulance and highly qualified medical personnel to run it.

But it's not the fault of the industry. Bear with me here. You and I need

to understand this.

I don't care how well educated

or trained a medical professional might be in the beginning, it is experience

that makes them great. From the physician right on down to a good nursing

assistant it is time and experience that makes the difference.

emergency medical technician has enough experience to make him or her

truly capable of meeting the demands of the job, he or she has had to

move on to another profession.

Why is that? They are barely

paid minimum wage in many counties. The turnover is outrageous. Rural

areas where the need may be even greater for highly qualified individuals

are frequently left with young graduates because those with experience

seek out employment in larger cities where the pay is better.

Even then, at no more that

$10 to $12 an hour they eventually have to change careers or work two

jobs which can mean 48 hours on and 24 hours off. I have known of incidences

where such professionals agreed to give up their one off day when the

need was especially great and work five days straight. That's staying

on the clock for 5 days X 24 hours with little or no quality rest or sleep.

Get it? And get this, very few private ambulances pay any sick leave or

benefits other than minimal vacation.

No wonder the turnover rate

is so high. No wonder the average career experience is five years. No

wonder? Consider this and you will begin to wonder, I hope.

You or someone you love is

in an auto accident, has a heart attack, or experiences a terrible fall

and you dial 911. The paramedic and/or emergency medical technician appears

on scene to try to stabilize and transport your loved one to the nearest

medical facility or trauma center.

Once at the facility there's

often a physician, a respiratory therapist, more than one nurse and even

a pharmacist to administer aid. But guess what, if that emergency medical

respondent is not experienced and alert and capable of performing adequate

life support measures on scene and en route to the hospital it doesn't

really matter how many medical professionals meet that stretcher as it

comes rolling through the ER doors.

So what has 9/11 taught us

about our 911 system? If we as taxpayers are not ready to get off our

pocketbooks and lazy rear ends and demand quality service then it has

taught us nothing. If we want a truly adequate 911 service then we must

seek to reduce the high turnover rate, raise pay for EMS workers, assure

that ongoing training requirements are paid for by employers and not out

of the pockets of EMS professionals who barely make minimum wage is some

counties.

Consider this, an auto mechanic

is often paid by the automobile dealer for whom he works to keep his credentials

up to date and the dealer proudly boasts about this credentialing. That

same auto mechanic's pay is three to five times that of an emergency medical

professional who responds to the scene where that automobile lies crumpled

in some ditch holding your bleeding or unconscious loved one captive.

Interesting scenario, huh?

So here we are at the end of

a year never to be forgotten; has our consciousness been raised? God knows

we were all due a wake up call. Teachers, policemen, firemen, paramedics

and EMTs have been under appreciated and underpaid long enough. If we

want the best, we have to find a way to attract the best. Decent pay,

decent benefits, decent hours would be a start. They would all trade that

for a handful of medals and an occasional headline any day.

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